How popular is the baby name Travis in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Travis.

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Popularity of the baby name Travis


Posts that mention the name Travis

Where did the baby name Tavist come from in 1993?

Tavist-D allergy medicine (as seen in an early '90s TV commercial)
Tavist-D

Travis has been on the baby name charts since the very beginning. It was particularly popular from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, ranking in the top 50 for 18 years straight.

During that period of Travis-trendiness, other forms/spellings of the name emerged, including Traviss, Tavis, Travus, Travas, Traves, Trevis, and Tevis.

Given this context, it’s not surprising that when a product called “Tavist-D” started to be marketed heavily in late 1992, the baby name Tavist debuted in the U.S. baby name data the very next year:

  • 1995: unlisted
  • 1994: 10 baby boys named Tavist
  • 1993: 16 baby boys named Tavist [debut]
  • 1992: unlisted
  • 1991: unlisted

Tavist-D, an antihistamine-decongestant, had been available in the U.S. by prescription since 1983. In early 1992, manufacturer Sandoz got permission from the FDA to sell Tavist-D over the counter. The drug became available to the public a few months later. It was introduced with a $40 million ad campaign. (For perspective, the company took in over $100 million in sales the first year.)

Though Tavist-D commercials continued to air until late 1990s, the name Tavist dropped off the baby name list after just two years. Why? Maybe because the name Travis was falling out of fashion by then. Or maybe because the brand name had become too well known. Ironically, the drug isn’t even around anymore; it was pulled from pharmacy shelves in 2000.

What are your thoughts on the baby name Tavist?

Sources:

(Another baby name inspired by medicine: Laxative Bromo Quinine.)

Letter by letter: Popular baby boy names, 2013

letterpress letters

Wondering what the most popular J-names for baby boys are? How about Q-names?

Below are the 10 most popular boy names for each letter, A through Z. (The parenthetical notations show how the current rankings differ from the 2012 rankings.)

The two new #1 names that emerged in 2013 were Hunter, which replaced Henry, and Thomas, which replaced Tyler.

A-Names

1. Alexander, 14771 baby boys
2. Aiden, 13527
3. Anthony, 12164
4. Andrew, 11568
5. Aaron, 7246
6. Adrian, 6802 (was 8th)
7. Austin, 6441
8. Angel, 6320 (was 6th)
9. Ayden, 6035
10. Adam, 5193

B-Names

1. Benjamin, 13373 baby boys
2. Brayden, 7384
3. Brandon, 6180
4. Blake, 5601
5. Bentley, 5344
6. Brody, 4302
7. Bryson, 3783
8. Bryce, 3335
9. Brantley, 3171 (was 13th)
10. Braxton, 3078

Out of the top 10: Bryan, now ranked 11th.

C-Names

1. Christopher, 10765 baby boys
2. Carter, 9512 (was 4th)
3. Caleb, 9500 (was 2nd)
4. Christian, 9261 (was 3rd)
5. Connor, 7058 (was 6th)
6. Charles, 6955 (was 7th)
7. Cameron, 6809 (was 5th)
8. Colton, 6442
9. Chase, 5504
10. Cooper, 4843

D-Names

1. Daniel, 14140 baby boys
2. David, 12226
3. Dylan, 10058
4. Dominic, 6277
5. Damian, 3945
6. Declan, 3097 (was 7th)
7. Diego, 2905 (was 6th)
8. Derek, 1865 (was 9th)
9. Devin, 1828 (was 8th)
10. Damien, 1603

E-Names

1. Ethan, 16127 baby boys
2. Elijah, 13626
3. Eli, 7867
4. Evan, 7070
5. Easton, 4615
6. Elias, 3472 (was 7th)
7. Eric, 3233 (was 6th)
8. Ezra, 2708 (was 10th)
9. Edward, 2679 (was 8th)
10. Emmanuel, 2377 (was 9th)

F-Names

1. Francisco, 1688 baby boys
2. Finn, 1440 (was 3rd)
3. Fernando, 1424 (was 2nd)
4. Felix, 1171 (was 5th)
5. Fabian, 1091 (was 4th)
6. Frank, 996
7. Finnegan, 605
8. Finley, 562 (was 10th)
9. Frederick, 549
10. Franklin, 545 (was 8th)

G-Names

1. Gabriel, 11112 baby boys
2. Gavin, 7379
3. Grayson, 5500
4. Giovanni, 2964
5. Greyson, 2630 (was 9th)
6. George, 2522 (was 7th)
7. Grant, 2401 (was 6th)
8. Gael, 2296 (was 5th)
9. Gage, 2131 (was 8th)
10. Graham, 1876 (was 11th)

Out of the top 10: Garrett, now ranked 12th.

H-Names

1. Hunter, 8887 baby boys (was 2nd)
2. Henry, 8802 (was 1st)
3. Hudson, 4628
4. Hayden, 2933
5. Harrison, 2491
6. Hector, 1248
7. Holden, 1198
8. Hugo, 653
9. Hayes, 411 (was 13th)
10. Harvey, 399 (was 15th)

Hunter became the new #1 H-name in 2013.

Out of the top 10: Harley, now ranked 11th, and Harper, now 14th.

I-Names

1. Isaac, 10005 baby boys
2. Isaiah, 7754
3. Ian, 5374
4. Ivan, 2846
5. Iker, 1612
6. Israel, 1457
7. Ismael, 741
8. Izaiah, 634
9. Ibrahim, 631 (was 10th)
10. Issac, 585 (was 9th)

J-Names

1. Jacob, 17976 baby boys
2. Jayden, 14656
3. James, 13416
4. Jackson, 12488 (was 6th)
5. Joseph, 12095
6. Joshua, 11680 (was 4th)
7. John, 10588
8. Jack, 8506 (was 9th)
9. Jonathan, 8478 (was 8th)
10. Jaxon, 7479 (was 13th)

Out of the top 10: Jordan, now ranked 12th.

K-Names

1. Kevin, 5892 baby boys
2. Kayden, 4386
3. Kaiden, 3076 (was 6th)
4. Kaleb, 2833 (was 3rd)
5. Kaden, 2606
6. Kyle, 2563 (was 4th)
7. Kenneth, 2159
8. Kingston, 2114 (was 9th)
9. King, 2085 (was 11th)
10. Kai, 1956 (was 8th)

Out of the top 10: Keegan, now ranked 11th.

L-Names

1. Liam, 18002 baby boys
2. Logan, 12270
3. Lucas, 11451
4. Luke, 9497 (was 5th)
5. Landon, 8679 (was 4th)
6. Levi, 7339
7. Lincoln, 4010 (was 8th)
8. Luis, 3976 (was 7th)
9. Leo, 3473
10. Leonardo, 2891

M-Names

1. Mason, 17591 baby boys
2. Michael, 15366
3. Matthew, 13226
4. Micah, 3631
5. Maxwell, 3607 (was 7th)
6. Mateo, 3547 (was 9th)
7. Max, 3492 (was 5th)
8. Miles, 3385 (was 6th)
9. Miguel, 2874 (was 8th)
10. Marcus, 2497

N-Names

1. Noah, 18090 baby boys
2. Nathan, 9620
3. Nicholas, 7078
4. Nolan, 4715 (was 5th)
5. Nathaniel, 4461 (was 4th)
6. Nicolas, 2109
7. Nehemiah, 919
8. Noel, 774
9. Nash, 596 (was 10th)
10. Nico, 561 (was 11th)

Out of the top 10: Nikolas, now ranked 11th.

O-Names

1. Owen, 8702 baby boys
2. Oliver, 7209
3. Oscar, 2225
4. Omar, 1873
5. Orion, 743
6. Orlando, 465
7. Odin, 447
8. Otto, 338 (was 10th)
9. Omari, 318 (was 8th)
10. Oakley, 288 (was 11th)

Out of the top 10: Osvaldo, now ranked 11th.

P-Names

1. Parker, 5622 baby boys
2. Preston, 2636
3. Patrick, 2566
4. Paul, 2017 (was 5th)
5. Peter, 1833 (was 6th)
6. Peyton, 1833 (was 4th)
7. Paxton, 1346
8. Pedro, 922
9. Phillip, 858
10. Phoenix, 775 (was 11th)

Out of the top 10: Pablo, now ranked 13th.

Q-Names

1. Quinn, 875 baby boys
2. Quentin, 722
3. Quinton, 479
4. Quincy, 416
5. Quintin, 248
6. Quinten, 161
7. Quinlan, 59
8. Quade, 34 (was 15th)
9. Quadir, 32 (was 10th)
10. Quran, 31 (was 11th)

Out of the top 10: Quincey, now ranked 11th, and Quin, now 13th.

R-Names

1. Ryan, 9808 baby boys
2. Robert, 6641
3. Ryder, 3750
4. Roman, 2858 (was 6th)
5. Richard, 2770 (was 4th)
6. Riley, 2531 (was 5th)
7. Ryker, 2462 (was 8th)
8. Rylan, 1882 (was 7th)
9. Ricardo, 1421
10. Reid, 1364 (was 12th)

Out of the top 10: Raymond, now ranked 11th.

S-Names

1. Samuel, 10957 baby boys
2. Sebastian, 7495
3. Silas, 3367 (was 7th)
4. Sawyer, 3142 (was 6th)
5. Santiago, 3015 (was 4th)
6. Steven, 2850 (was 3rd)
7. Sean, 2180 (was 5th)
8. Simon, 1592 (was 12th)
9. Seth, 1578 (was 8th)
10. Spencer, 1440

Out of the top 10: Stephen, now ranked 11th.

T-Names

1. Thomas, 6708 baby boys (was 2nd)
2. Tyler, 6590 (was 1st)
3. Tristan, 3970
4. Timothy, 3016
5. Theodore, 2397 (was 7th)
6. Tucker, 2220
7. Tanner, 2029 (was 5th)
8. Travis, 1571 (was 9th)
9. Trevor, 1520 (was 8th)
10. Trenton, 1319

Thomas became the new #1 T-name in 2013.

U-Names

1. Uriel, 567 baby boys
2. Uriah, 488
3. Urijah, 298
4. Ulises, 270
5. Ulysses, 164
6. Umar, 94 (was 7th)
7. Unknown, 85 (was 6th) [not a name; used when a name is unknown]
8. Uziel, 77
9. Uzziah, 51 (was 10th)
10. Usman, 39 (was 15th)

Out of the top 10: Usher, now ranked 11th.

V-Names

1. Vincent, 3829 baby boys
2. Victor, 2715
3. Vihaan, 426
4. Valentino, 329 (was 6th)
5. Vicente, 317 (was 4th)
6. Vincenzo, 285 (was 5th)
7. Van, 252 (was 8th)
8. Vaughn, 247 (was 9th)
9. Vance, 244 (was 7th)
10. Valentin, 237

W-Names

1. William, 16495 baby boys
2. Wyatt, 8490
3. Wesley, 2819
4. Weston, 2473
5. Waylon, 1190
6. Walter, 930
7. Walker, 833
8. Warren, 577
9. Wade, 483
10. Winston, 390 (was 11th)

Out of the top 10: Wilson, now ranked 11th.

X-Names

1. Xavier, 4933 baby boys
2. Xander, 1687
3. Xzavier, 420
4. Xavi, 217
5. Xavion, 81
6. Xaiden, 76
7. Xavian, 63
8. Xavior, 55
9. Xayden, 53
10. Xzander, 43 (was 12th)

Out of the top 10: Xavien, now ranked 11th.

Y-Names

1. Yahir, 570 baby boys
2. Yusuf, 414
3. Yosef, 328
4. Yousef, 249 (was 5th)
5. Yael, 243 (was 4th)
6. Yair, 206 (was 10th)
7. Yadiel, 202 (was 8th)
8. Yisroel, 179 (was 9th)
9. Yehuda, 174 (was 6th)
10. Youssef, 173 (was 12th)

Out of the top 10: Yandel, now ranked 14th.

Z-Names

1. Zachary, 5685 baby boys
2. Zayden, 2097 (was 3rd)
3. Zane, 1719 (was 2nd)
4. Zander, 1586 (was 5th)
5. Zion, 1514 (was 4th)
6. Zaiden, 956
7. Zachariah, 744
8. Zayne, 576 (was 9th)
9. Zackary, 463 (was 8th)
10. Zain, 360 (was 11th)

Out of the top 10: Zechariah, now ranked 11th.

Here are the 2012 rankings, if you want to check them out.

U.S. Baby Names 2013: Most popular names, Top girl-name debuts, Top boy-name debuts, Biggest girl-name changes, Biggest boy-name changes, Top first letters, Top lengths, Top girl names by letter, Top boy names by letter

Image: Adapted from Wood letterpress type at Washington University in St. Louis in 2011 by Michellecornelison under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where did the baby name Iuma come from in 2000?

IUMA's main menu from 1996 to 1997.
IUMA’s main menu (1996-1997)

Long before MySpace and Napster, there was the Internet Underground Music Archive, or IUMA (pronounced ie-YOO-mah).

Created in 1993 by a trio University of California computer science students, IUMA (www.iuma.com) was the first major music distribution website. Its goal was to help unsigned artists publicize their music and talk directly to fans.

In mid-2000, IUMA launched the “Name Your Baby IUMA” contest.

You love your baby. You love new music. Prove your love and devotion to both by naming your baby IUMA!

Why a baby name contest?

We had a really small advertising budget. And we were looking for a way to let the whole world know about IUMA and IUMA artists. We couldn’t afford TV or radio ads, and we couldn’t afford giant billboards! Then we realized that these ads get far fewer impressions than someone’s name! We decided to throw our advertising dollars into a campaign that will have a lifetime of impact!

The parents of the first ten U.S. babies named “Iuma” between August 1, 2000, and November 1, 2000, would get their choice of either $5,000 or $100-worth of music downloads per month for (the baby’s) life.

Iuma logo in 2000
IUMA’s logo (2000)

So did any parents take the bait?

Yes, a handful of babies were indeed named Iuma in 2000. Enough baby girls got the name, in fact, that the music site’s acronym appeared for the first and only time in the U.S. baby name data that year:

  • 2002: unlisted
  • 2001: unlisted
  • 2000: 8 baby girls named Iuma [debut]
  • 1999: unlisted
  • 1998: unlisted

And that’s not all. Several baby boys also got the name, as did a handful of international babies (in Brazil, Germany and Russia).

Which of these babies became the 10 verified winners? Here’s the official list:

  • Iuma Dylan-Lucas Thornhill, born on August 11, 2000, in Hutchinson, Kansas
  • Iuma Ross, born on August 21, 2000, Williamsburg, Pennsylvania
  • Iuma Becht born on September 1, 2000, in Augusta, Georgia
  • Iuma Carlton, born on September 8, 2000, in St. Petersburg, Florida
  • Iuma Farish, born on September 13, 2000, in Dallas, Texas
  • Iuma Devi, born on August 31, 2000, in Cambria, California
  • Iuma Godfrey, born on September 21, 2000, in Los Angeles, California
  • Iuma Daigre, born on October 5, 2000, in Houston, Texas
  • Iuma Radnedge, born on October 6, 2000, in Dallas, Texas
  • Iuma Hebert, born on October 6, 2000, in Dallas, Texas

The rest of the babies named Iuma (including Iuma Rose Carter of Carvers, Nevada; Iuma Heidi VanRyker of Darmstadt, Germany; and Iuma Dara Lewis of New York City) didn’t make the cut.

Here’s what Travis Thornhill — father of the first-born winner, and bass player whose band used IUMA for promotion — told reporters upon winning (and choosing the $5,000 option):

My wife was overdue, and the hospital had to induce labor for the child to be born. On the day we were going into the hospital, I logged into IUMA and saw the ‘Name Your Baby IUMA’ contest, which I took as a sign. My wife liked the idea because the child’s grandma said this baby would bring prosperity, and this contest could be what she was talking about. Plus, the kid will have a cool story when he grows up.

Hopefully the other winners also went with the one-time payment of $5,000, as IUMA went belly-up about a year after the contest. It was offline entirely by 2006.

Sources:

P.S. Though the company is long gone, much of the music itself is still online! Check out the Internet Archive’s IUMA collection.

Images: Screenshots of IUMA’s webpage

Where did the baby name Tessalee come from in 2007?

The book "Firefly Cloak" (2006) by Sheri Reynolds
The book “Firefly Cloak“

The compound name Tessalee is so rare that it has only appeared in the U.S. baby name data once, in 2007:

  • 2009: unlisted
  • 2008: unlisted
  • 2007: 6 baby girls named Tessalee [debut]
  • 2006: unlisted
  • 2005: unlisted

What put it there?

My best guess is the 2006 coming-of-age novel The Firefly Cloak by American author Sheri Reynolds. The book features a main character named Tessa Lee:

When 8-year old Tessa Lee and her brother, Travis, are abandoned in a campground by their desperate mother and her boyfriend of the moment, their mother leaves them only two things: a phone number printed in Magic Marker on Travis’s back and her favorite housecoat, printed with tiny fireflies, that she places over her sleeping children.

I’m not sure how well the novel sold, but one of Reynolds’ earlier novels, The Rapture of Canaan (1995), became an Oprah‘s Book Club selection in 1997, and consequently both a New York Times bestseller and a Publishers Weekly bestseller. So her later books certainly would have been on readers’ radars.

That said…the name Tessa also happened to see a boost in usage in 2007. In fact, that was the year Tessa saw peak usage overall. So whatever was influencing Tessa (actress Tessa Thompson perhaps?) may have been influencing Tessalee as well.

What do you think of the name Tessalee? Would you use it as a single name, or do you prefer “Tessa Lee” as a first/middle combo?

Sources: